Syracuse University bowl picture has pinstripes running through it

Syracuse, NY -- On Sunday morning, the Syracuse University football team will likely get an invitation to the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at the new Yankee Stadium.

That’s where the Orange, which finished a 7-5 season on Saturday under second-year head coach Doug Marrone, have been predicted to wind up by almost every Web site and bowl prognosticator out there.

Though he wouldn’t say anything definitive, Mark Holtzman, director of program development for the New York Yankees and executive director of the Pinstripe Bowl, sounded this week like SU was the game’s top choice.

Holtzman acknowledged that the new bowl game, which pits a Big East team against one from the Big 12, wants a “local” team – meaning Syracuse, Rutgers or Connecticut.

Rutgers, at 4-7, isn’t bowl eligible this year, and Connecticut is still in the hunt to win the Big East championship the league’s automatic spot in a BCS bowl.

“We need to wait to see how this weekend unfolds,” Holtzman said Tuesday. “You can’t predict exactly how things are going to go down.”

There are three games in the Big East this weekend, all featuring title and BCS contenders: Connecticut (7-4, 4-2 Big East) visits South Florida (7-4, 3-3), West Virginia (8-3, 4-2) plays host to Rutgers, and Pittsburgh (6-5, 4-2) travels to Cincinnati.

The Huskies hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over West Virginia and Pittsburgh and will be the Big East’s BCS representative if they win -- or if the three title contenders all lose to create a five-way tie for the championship. That scenario would have Syracuse and South Florida sharing the Big East crown along with Connecticut, West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

If the Huskies lose, West Virginia would win the BCS berth with a victory over Rutgers. If UConn and West Virginia both fall, Pitt would get to the BCS game with a win over Cincinnati.

After the league’s BCS representative is determined, the Pinstripe Bowl gets the third choice of Big East teams, behind the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C.

The Champs Sports Bowl also has the option of selecting Notre Dame once in its four-year deal with the Big East, and that could push one of the three contenders down the list and past the Orange to the BBVA Compass Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, or the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Some league sources have speculated that even if Connecticut loses Saturday, the Huskies will still end up in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, leaving SU as the Pinstripe contestant.

Holtzman’s comments about Syracuse seemed to indicate a high likelihood that the Orange will be headed to the Bronx for a 3:30 p.m. matchup Dec. 30 against a Big 12 opponent.

Holtzman said that as a newcomer to the bowl scene, it was important for the Pinstripe Bowl to have a school whose fans could drive to the game. SU has a lot of alumni in New York and surrounding areas, he said, and fans could also make the four-hour trip from Syracuse.

The tradition of Syracuse playing games at the old Yankee Stadium, and coach Marrone’s roots in the Bronx also are a factor, he said.

“In our first year as a bowl, obviously there are a lot of advantages to having Syracuse,” he said. “There’s a lot of pent-up energy for the football program. We’ve gotten a lot of calls here about Syracuse playing in this game,” he said.

Most predictions have the Orange playing against Kansas State, which finished 7-5 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12.

The Orange and Wildcats have played in two bowls in the last 14 years.

In the 1997 Fiesta Bowl, quarterback Michael Bishop led Kansas State to three touchdowns in the second quarter to defeat SU 35-18. The loss snapped a seven-game bowl win streak for the Orange and quarterback Donovan McNabb.

The teams also played in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl, with SU getting some revenge with a 26-3 victory behind the running of James Mungro, the offensive MVP, and linebacker Clifton Smith, the defensive MVP.